The Big Ten is setting the right tone dropping nonconference games against FCS foes

February 24, 2013|Matt Murschel, College Insider

The Southeastern Conference needs to go on a diet.

Forget the cabbage. Put away the watermelon. Leave the grapefruit for the health nuts. What the SEC needs to avoid is the cupcakes.

Not the sugary sweet ones that you find next to the deli at the grocery store. With their creamy frosting and sprinkles, so good . . . Sorry, I digress.

I'm talking about the Western Carolinas, the Jacksonville States, the South Carolina States, the Towsons and the Woffords that liter the SEC's vast nonconference schedule. Call it the Delany Diet, inspired by Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany's latest move.

It's his conference that made the unprecedented call to drop Football Championship Subdivision opponents from its future schedules in an effort to strengthen the league's nonconference image.

"The nonconference schedule in our league is ridiculous," Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez told a radio show in Madison, Wis., several weeks ago. "It's not very appealing ...

"So we've made an agreement that our future games will all be Division I schools. It will not be FCS schools."

The Big Ten hopes to start phasing out FCS foes in 2015, but the new four-team playoff system in 2014 could facilitate a quicker exit strategy.

By no stretch of the imagination would I consider the Big Ten's recent schedules stronger than the SEC's recent schedules. You just have to look at the past seven seasons to see that hasn't been the case. However, what I am saying is that SEC schools need to look at the bigger picture.

Under the new postseason model, a team's strength of schedule will play a major role in determining whether it will qualify for the two national semifinal games leading up to the national championship game. It will also play a role in determining where the teams will be seeded in a new rankings system to be determined by a selection committee composed of 14 to 20 members.

The SEC's conference schedule already provides the league with a strong national footprint, but until the league decides whether to go from its current eight-game conference schedule to a nine-game schedule, the SEC's weak nonconference schedule remains an issue.

Take Florida, whose nonconference schedule last season consisted of Bowling Green, Louisiana-Lafayette, Jacksonville State and Florida State. Or how about Texas A&M, which played Louisiana Tech, SMU, South Carolina State and Sam Houston State.

Not the type of opposition that you would expect from the top conference in the country.

Although, that's not really the intent. The intent is easy wins and more home games that generate big revenue for schools. Competitive Football Bowl Subdivision schools typically expect to trade a home game for a road game when agreeing to play nonconference games.

Teams pay big money for what is considered a guaranteed victory when they schedule FCS games. On the flip side, FCS teams balance their athletics budgets by cashing in on big paydays for the right to be a sacrificial lamb. Savannah State earned a cool $865,000 by playing both Oklahoma State and Florida State last season.

Some conferences are taking a different approach when it comes to improving its nonconference schedule. The Big 12 reportedly was in talks with the ACC and SEC to form an alliance to play regular nonconference games that will help strengthen its nonconference schedule.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said the subject of scheduling FCS opponents is one that he will bring up with athletics directors and coaches in the near future.

The SEC is the king of conferences, it's time that it starts scheduling like it.

The NCAA board of directors announced it "affirmed its confidence" in NCAA President Mark Emmert's leadership Friday despite controversy surrounding his handling of the University of Miami sprawling investigation and other rule enforcement cases.

Miami leaders have argued the NCAA's investigation into its athletics programs were tainted and its self imposed sanctions should stand as the sole punishment for NCAA rule violations. Emmert endorsed the NCAA investigators' decision to hit the Hurricanes with charges it suffered from lack of institutional control.

Bobby V lands at Sacred Heart

Former Major League Baseball manager Bobby Valentine will be introduced as the new athletics director at Sacred Heart University Tuesday. Valentine, a Connecticut native, spent 10 years as a player and manager, including stops with the New York Mets and most recently the Boston Red Sox. He will replace C. Donald Cook, who is retiring.

Commish: Big 12 will wait on title game

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said it doesn't make good business sense for the league to have a conference championship game. "Take a look at the attendance on the conference championship games this year and take a look at the TV ratings," Bowlsby told the Associated Press. "They aren't the kind of things that are going to invite you to take that up as a new business proposition."